Yesterday was my last day of work. It still seems unreal. Like in two days, I will be getting up in the morning, putting on my work clothes and driving in to see patients. Today just seemed like a day off.

When I think of this upcoming hike, it still seems like it is in the distant future, a far off dream that I will get around to someday. Except that someday is 5 days away.

I once read that "A goal is a dream with a deadline." I'm not sure who said that. Probably Oprah.* And this year, that is exactly what happened. It picked a date and turned a dream into a goal. It still seems weird.

I was going through a bunch of papers today: one of those piles of things that seem so important to keep until faced with a limited amount of storage space. I came across a folder labeled "someday". I remember putting this folder together, many years ago. It was filled with pages from magazines; things that I wanted to do, places where I wanted to go, challenges that I wanted to complete.

As I went through the clippings, I was amazed at the number of things that I have completed. It was kind of nice to cull the pile of each goal that no longer belonged in a "someday" folder. See the Grand Canyon. Check. Ride in a hot air balloon. Check. Visit Venice. Check. Run a marathon. Check. Hike the Appalachian Trail. Check.

And then, it all seemed a little less weird to me. We all have our dream folders, our diaries and journals, our bucket lists. We all have that place where we guard our secret desires and lifelong dreams. We all have days like today when we look back over our lists and measure our progress on the items, be they 1) get married 2) buy a house 3) have a baby; 1) complete my PhD 2) secure a university position 3) cure cancer; or 1) travel the world 2) write a novel 3) get a picture published in National Geographic. We are all in it together, plugging away at those items on our lists, carving out our own little place in the world. It's nice that all our dreams are a little different. It's nice that everyone's little niche brings something unique to the party.

Yesterday was my last day at work. Today was one step closer to turning the dream to goal. Check.

anty heather i will miss you i cant wait till i can see you again love caroline rose ward

Reply

caroline

4/1/2013 07:50:57 am

anty heather how is the plane are you safe also Iwant to know if you can like write back to me oh ya so if you go to eny citys can you bring somthing back for me. I relly miss you brandon does to on the pre test for spelling today i did relly bad and blake misses you to and also igot my report card i dont know if you have seen IT.I heard mom say that grammy was worred about you.Iam too but not that much daddy probably misses you to and mom i relly never wanted you to go.Iwill wirte back tomarow soory if i spelld some thi gs worng OMG i love you so much love the girl who relly loves you caroline.

Reply

Aunty Heather

4/2/2013 12:09:34 am

Hi Caroline. What a nice surprise when I woke up this morning to find your nice comments. My friend Erin said you are a wonderful writer and your comment almost made her cry. I have one more night in an Inn on. The mountain and then it's camping from here on out. It is warmer here than back home so it's looking good. I love you and miss you all. Be good. Aunty Heather

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caroline

4/11/2013 06:56:56 am

anty heather thanks for wirting back to me i relly miss you i havent got in troble yet seance you left i am so happy that you told me about erin i just got done with half of my home work i relly cant wait till you get back love caroline

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Heather

Hi, I'm Heather, AKA "Pink Lady". Welcome to my blog. I'm so excited to share my adventures as I embark on a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail. While you're here, be sure to check out the charity I'm hiking for: Devoted2Children a great organization which funds a home for orphaned children in Haiti.